HijiChi Week
by Eliz1369
Summary: Collection of short stories for HijiChi Week 2018 on Tumblr
1. Sun and Moon

"Um… Hijikata-san? Thank you…"

Hijikata had heard her, but he didn't turn. Instead, he called out to one of his men in the courtyard, "Oi, what's the status of the injured?"

As the man began to report, his own internal thoughts were a chaotic mix of practical details and a vision of gold and white that he couldn't get out of his head. He could deal with an enemy breaking into their headquarters. He could deal with an attempted abduction of Chizuru. He could even deal with the super-human, and if the supposed princess was to be believed, mythical abilities of these so called Oni. What he couldn't deal with in that moment was the girl currently sitting on the ground behind him.

Seared into his mind's eye was a girl—no, woman—whose hair shimmered as white as a Fury's under the moonlight, but whose eyes shone with the golden glow of the sun.

Yes, the princess had told him that, like her and her guard, Chizuru was not human, but seeing it for himself made the fact all too real. He couldn't in one breath call Kazama and his henchmen monsters and in the next look at Chizuru and say the same.

From the moment they had found Chizuru on that bitterly cold night, everything they had learned about her situation had practically labeled her as a danger.

Her father was the man who had brought the Water of Life to them, and subsequently betrayed them by presumably joining the Shogunate's enemies.

They had, quite rationally, kept her as a prisoner, offering the hope of finding her father as a way to keep her from causing trouble. Neither of which should have endeared her to them.

Now they had found out she wasn't even human and a significant portion of her people had chosen to ally themselves with those who oppose the Shogunate.

If he only had those facts to go on, Hijikata would have said without a doubt that Chizuru would betray them. With what she knew, it would be in their interest to head the problem off before it became one, as distasteful as the thought was.

He nodded a dismissal to the man reporting to him, before turning toward his room. Sannan and the captains would be able to handle the rest. Right now he was of little use with his head in the state it currently was.

As he walked, he could still faintly feel the warmth of where he had held Chizuru to his side.

He had meant what he said to Kazama. There were no humans in the house of the Wolves of Mibu. Chizuru would belong with them as long as she desired to stay, because her situation wasn't the whole of who she was.

She had astounded all of them by working her way into their affections with her genuine and kind nature. If he was honest with himself, he had come to care for her more than was appropriate or safe.

She had made known her desire to help them in any way she could, taking on whatever task she could get with a smile. By now she'd had several opportunities to run, but had taken none of them. She'd even had the option to leave only a few hours ago, and she had chosen to stay.

More than that, she had just thrown herself in front of a sword to protect him. Even with her hands shaking, she had stood firm against an opponent she could never hope to beat. Then, when Kazama had revealed what she was for all to see, she hadn't wavered for a moment in her determination to oppose him.

Almost without thought, Hijikata stepped into his room and closed the shoji behind him. As he settled down at his desk, he reached over to pick up the small cup sitting off to one side. It was still half full of the tea that Chizuru had brought him that afternoon.

Yes, she was a conundrum, but the more he examined his feelings, the more he realized that what she was paled in comparison to who she was. White hair and golden eyes didn't hold a torch to her honest heart and a deep devotion to those she cared for.

Hijikata sighed in exasperation at the sentimental thought as he set the cup down. She wasn't a threat and that should be enough. His growing attachment was something he would have to deal with… well, later.


	2. Joy and Sorrow

Hijikata couldn't sleep and it wasn't because there was work to be done. At this point there was nothing he could do. Everything was on the ships except the men who would board at dawn, only a few short hours away. Accomodations were already in order for when they arrived in Edo. There were no papers to sign or letters to write. Why bother when the government was simply scrambling to follow the cowards who had fled ahead of the troops?

Maybe it was the Water of Life working its way through his veins, changing him, slowly turning him into a terror of the night. Or it could simply be that his body had become accustomed to his bad sleeping habits.

Finally unable to take staring at the same whorls of wood grain on the ceiling any longer, Hijikata grudgingly rolled out of his futon and walked over to the window.

He had already started to notice the improved senses granted by the Water of Life. Smells were stronger, sounds were sharper, and he was able to see details in the dark he never would have been able to before. Of course it was this same improved vision that gave him piercing headaches when he spent any length of time out in the sun.

Still… even those inconveniences didn't dim his memory of the surge of pure strength he had felt after swallowing the bitter, red liquid. Within moments, he had felt energy rushing through him, making him feel invincible. With his senses heightened, the thrill of fight had grown. Each clash of metal on metal had driven him to crave more. To push harder. And then when he had marked that blonde bastard…

Hijikata shook his head as he leaned against the window frame. He knew that was the Water of Life talking, not him. He had never been like Souji, craving the thrill of a bloody fight, of completely destroying an opponent. Yes, he would do anything to win-anyone doing less didn't value their life enough-but he didn't enjoy it.

The Water of Life had taken his grief over Gen-san's murder and twisted it until it was almost unrecognizable.

His right hand tightened into a fist.

And that lapse in judgement might still cost Yamazaki his life.

Two people. One, a source of wisdom, a listening ear, and more than anything, a dear friend. The other, a faithful and loyal subordinate whom he trusted beyond almost all others. He had failed both of them. Gen-san's death and Yamazaki's injuries were on his head. They may claim to have made their own decisions, but he was the one who put them in their respective situations. If he had called the retreat sooner… or if he hadn't let his emotions get carried away… if… if… if…

"Mmhm… Hijikata-san…"

Chizuru's quiet mumble pulled him out of his morbid thoughts, and he looked over at the young woman sleeping in her own futon on the other side of the room.

"Hijikata-san…" her forehead pinched as her head tossed fitfully on her pillow. "Don't… please, Hijikata-san… don't leave..."

Leaving his spot by the window, he quietly walked over and sat down next to Chizuru.

She could have had any pick of the rooms in the mostly empty fortress, but unlike at the compound, there was more than just the Shinsengumi here. Their own men knew well enough that the-paige-who-was-definitely-not-a-girl, was strictly off limits. But they weren't the only ones here and he had seen the other soldier's reactions to her feminine looks and manners.

It wasn't worth the risk, which was why he had insisted she stay in his room and why she would be sharing his cabin on the voyage to Edo. [1] Rumors were a small price to pay to avoid the alternative.

Still somewhat lost in his own thoughts, it wasn't until his fingers grazed her hair that he realized he had reached out to try to sooth Chizuru. He froze, unsure and slightly confused by his actions.

He had known Chizuru hadn't been sleeping well, but he also hadn't done anything about it. What could he do? What comfort could he give? He was the Demon Vice Commander (literally). He should have done a better job of protecting her from the horrors of war that now haunted her dreams. From what he could piece together from her midnight mumblings she still blamed herself for his decision to drink the Water of Life.

He didn't move until Chizuru let out a small almost-whimper and turned her head, brushing against his hand. Almost as if the touch had been the key to releasing him, he began to gently run his fingers through her hair.

It wasn't often that he saw it down like it was now. By the time he saw her in the morning, it was always up in it's neat ponytail. The one exception had been when the Fury had broken into her room. Of course at the time he had been more focused on the threat to her life, than her hair. That was another night she had spent in his room and under his watchful protection.

As he wove his fingers through the silky strands of her hair, Chizuru seemed to calm. The worry lines disappeared from her forehead and her breathing slowed to that of a deep sleep.

After a few more moments, he pulled his hand away. With Chizuru now sleeping peacefully, he no longer had an excuse to touch her so intimately.

Even so, he didn't get up and return to his own futon. The sky out the window had just begun to lighten with the first hints of dawn. In only a short time they would begin boarding the ship. His own sleep was a foregone conclusion by this point, but he could at least make sure Chizuru's sleep remained undisturbed. He would need her light now, more than ever, as the shadow of defeat loomed over them.

[1] If anyone hasn't read ImpracticalDemon's amazing HijiChi works _Twelfth Night_ and _Twelfth Night: First and Last_ , they are a definite must read. They are the source of the headcanon that Hijikata and Chizuru shared a cabin on the voyage to Edo.


	3. Haiku

The lazy heat of the afternoon filled the garden as Souji found the perfect spot to lay down under one of the trees. Just enough sunlight peaked its way through the leaves to be pleasantly warm, instead of boiling hot. It would have been the perfect place to take a nap, but he had other plans.

Laying back, he pulled a small book out of his sleeve and turned it over in his hands as he grinned.

Hijikata had done a much better job hiding his haiku collection this time and he'd had to waste three whole distractions before he'd finally found it hidden in a stack of expense reports.

Now with Hijikata off chastising the Baka trio for stealing his brushes to paint Sano's stomach the previous night—and subsequently breaking them in their drunken stupor—Souji finally had some Hijikata-free time in which he could pursue the Oni no Fukucho's latest additions.

Flipping to where he had left off last time he'd had the book, Souji was surprised to find only one new haiku.

A beautiful flower

To be admired, but never held

Accusations fly

He frowned at the words. By no means was he any kind of expert, but this seemed bad even for Hijikata. It started off fine, but the accusations part seem both oddly specific and completely out of the blue.

He sat up as he read it over again. Flowers weren't an unusual theme for Hijikata, his absurd plum blossom one was just the tip of the iceberg, but something about this felt off to Souji.

What had happened in the past few weeks that would cause Hijikata to write this?

Normally he never bothered to figure out why Hijikata wrote his haiku, because normally they were either obvious enough to tell exactly what he was getting at, or so vague as to be indecipherable… and this was frustratingly neither.

"Okita-san?"

He looked up to find Chizuru standing on the engawa. She gestured to the small tray in her hands as she asked, "Would you like some peach slices? I was going to take them to Hijikata-san, but um…"

She trailed off and Souji knew she was trying to find a delicate way to say "scaring the living daylights out of three grown men" (or at the very least Heisuke).

He let a razor edge creep into his smile as he snicker and said, "You mean threatening life and limb of a certain trio? Don't worry, they'll probably only lose a finger or two, maybe a toe."

"Okita-san! That isn't funny."

She frowned at him with the odd censure she sometimes got, like she wasn't afraid of him at all. Despite that, she smiled as she sat down and placed the tray next to her, clearly expecting him to join her.

Not that he would ever say no to a sweet treat. Chizuru had a knack for only picking the sweetest fruit. Unlike Shinpachi, who somehow managed to always come back with fruit so green it was completely inedible.

Tucking Hijikata's book back into his sleeve, he got up.

Besides, maybe she would know what Hijikata was getting at with his little poem. The plum blossom incident was largely due to her after all.

"Ne, Chizuru-chan," he said as he sat next to the tray and picked up a slice of the sticky fruit. "I've got something I don't understand. Think you could figure it out for me?"

She blinked in surprise at the question, but nodded. "Um, I can certainly try. What is it?"

He recited the haiku and waited, watching for the slightest flicker in her expression as she thought it over.

"Well… Flowers do bruise when you touch them, and they last longest when you leave them on the stem…" She frowned as she chewed on her lip. "That brings up thoughts of the shortness of life… Or maybe something is out of reach?"

Souji stole another piece of fruit as Chizuru nodded to herself, really getting into her analysis. It was amusing how the normally quiet girl could really ramble when it came to poetry.

"The flower might represent something the author finds beautiful but can't bring themselves to touch. And maybe the accusations are because touching or being near that thing is forbidden or would harm it, so the haiku could capture the conflicting desire of both loving and fearing for something or someone-"

"Or maybe it means that theft of private property is wrong."

Chizuru jumped and let out a squeak at the all too familiar voice behind them.

Souji lazily took another bite of peach as he looked up at a thunderous Hijikata and said innocently, "I don't know what you're talking about Hijikata-san."

"Yes you damn well do! Give my back my book!"

Chizuru glanced nervously between them, but Souji wasn't about to admit to anything. Hijikata didn't know the book was in his sleeve. All Hijikata would know was that he had been reciting his most recent work.

Deciding to try and learn a bit more, Souji said, "What did you mean by accusations, Hijikata-san? Is there a flower out of your reach?"

Hijikata's face remained impassive except for a slight twitch at his temple and the very briefest flicker of his eyes toward Chizuru.

Oh, so it had something to do with her, did it? Something in the past few weeks had caused Hijikata to write a haiku about Chizuru…

All at once everything clicked into place and Souji let a devilish smile creep across his face. Any number of snarky comments were on the tip of his tongue, but he kept silent. This was too good to risk spoiling.

"Yukimura," Hijikata's voice was slightly strained as he broke Souji's gaze gestured sharply down the hall he had come from. "I believe Gen could use some help with lunch. Heisuke is unable to assist him at the moment."

Chizuru nodded and scurried away, leaving the tray of fruit behind and clearly eager to escape the tense atmosphere.

Once she was out of earshot, Souji said tauntingly, "Hmm, Hijikata-san wasn't touching a flower he shouldn't, was he?"

"Not another word, Souji, or I swear I will cut your fucking tongue out."

The telltale twitch was back, so Souji didn't say anything about the faint blush that accompanied it. Instead he just smirked as Hijikata turned away and stormed back down the hallway.

Only once the Demon was gone, did he allow himself a quiet laugh. It seems the feared Oni no Fukucho was developing a soft spot for a certain little geisha. And if the last line of the poem was anything to go by, they must have made quite a scene leaving Shimabara.

He picked up the last piece of peach and popped it into his mouth before getting up and walking over to the spot he had vacated upon Chizuru's arrival. There was just enough time to sneak in a quick nap in the sun before lunch.

As he settled back onto the soft grass, Souji promised himself that one of these days, he was going to wheedle out of everyone exactly what had happened the night Chizuru-chan went undercover.


	4. Hot and Cold

Chizuru sighed in relief as she unpacked the last of her meager belongings and sat on the western style bed. Packing light had been a necessity since she had left her home to search for her father all those years ago, and living with the Shinsengumi through the war had only reinforced the habit. The small room they had given her near Hijikata's was just right for her needs.

Not that she intended to spend much time there. She had spent enough time sitting and waiting in rooms. Now that she was here at Ezo, she was going to do everything in her power to help Hijikata.

He had dismissed her for the night, saying that she had traveled far and needed to rest—and it was true, it had been a long, emotionally charged day—but she also didn't quite believe that he would do as he had said and go to bed. He hadn't looked all that well earlier, and that was when he tended to push himself the most.

Getting up, Chizuru decided that she would just check and see if he was still awake. If he had gone to bed, then well and good, but if not, then maybe she could slip down to the kitchen and make some tea.

It was only a few yards between her own door and Hijikata's, but even from that distance, she could see the flickering candle light leaking out across the floor. With a small shake of her head, she began walking in the opposite direction. The direction Otori had helpfully pointed out to her as leading to the kitchens when he had first led her to Hijikata's rooms.

At first Chizuru thought the spacious kitchens to be empty, as she hesitantly stepped into the dark room. Presumably the kitchen staff had already finished for the evening and gone home.

So it came as a shock when a deep voice came from her left.

"Yukimura, I take it? Otori-san mentioned that you might slip down here tonight."

Chizuru nodded slowly, not sure who she was addressing. The man smiled gently as he sat down at a small table and gestured her over.

"I would call you Hijikata-san's new page, but the man has been stubbornly refusing one ever since they got here. Has a bit of a reputation for crushing every hopeful prospect's dreams." The man pushed forward a tray with a pair of cups that had been sitting on the table. "This is yours. I can show you a shelf where you can keep it tomorrow. Hot water is over there," he gestured to a kettle warming over some still glowing embers, "Unfortunately all we have is black tea, so you'll just have to make do with that."

"T-Thank you." Chizuru managed to stammer out, surprised by both Otori's and this man's thoughtfulness.

Taking the kettle, she added the leaves to the steaming water before setting it on the tray.

The corner of the man's mouth twitched up as he said, "No, thank you. No one around here seems to be able to make a cup of tea that man likes. Not that he says anything of course, but you can just tell from his expression that it just doesn't cut it."

Chizuru felt her cheeks flush and was infinitely grateful for the darkness of the room. It was nice to hear Hijikata still thought of her tea so highly. She made a promise to herself to take some time to figure out how best to brew this new tea.

She gave a small bow of gratitude before she took the tray and left the room. Only once she was nearly back to Hijikata's room did she realized that she had failed to ask the man's name.

The thought broke off when she heard a thump and a muffled groan from behind Hijikata's door.

Her first instinct was to call out to him, but years of experience had taught her that Hijikata would only try to blow off whatever it was as nothing and send her away. Another moan of pain cemented her decision. She wouldn't be sent away again.

Instead of knocking, Chizuru opened the door and hurriedly stepped inside, before closing it behind her. The sight that met her, tore at her heart.

Hijikata knelt on the floor near his desk, one hand gripping the wooden surface, while the other clutched at his chest. His normally black hair hung in silvery white strands around his sweat dampened face, and when he raised his head to look at her, his red eyes practically glowed.

His eyes widened in shock as he recognized her through the pain of his bloodlust. As she quickly set the tray down on a side table, Hijikata managed a choked, "Yukimura?"

Instead of answering, she hurried over to the stand where Hijikata kept his swords, taking and unsheathing the wakizashi before going to his side. As she knelt down, his hand closed around her wrist, his grip probably tighter than he intended due to the pain. He red gaze held hers.

"Damnit, Chizuru," he said through clenched teeth. "I did not let you stay here so I could use you like this!"

Without breaking his gaze, she said earnestly, "And I didn't come here to sit by and watch you suffer. You said you would share your burdens with me, so let me bear them."

For a long moment neither of them moved, both too stubborn to yield to the other. Chizuru wasn't sure how long the standoff would have lasted, but Hijikata suddenly closed his eyes and hunched over with a groan of pain, his hand leaving her wrist to claw at his chest.

When the pain seemed to ease a bit, he said quietly, "All right, fine."

Carefully, she closed his hand around the wakizashi and caught a brief glimpse of his surprised expression before she turned and loosened the neckline of her shirt.

Almost hesitantly, she felt Hijikata's warm hand settle on her shoulder, his thumb tracing a line up the back of her neck . She almost shivered when his thumb was replaced by the line of cold, hard steel resting against her skin.

"Are you sure," Hijikata asked, his voice hoarse.

She gave a small nod as she said, "Please, take what you need."

With that, the cold of the steel turned into a brief line of sharp pain, and then into the warm feeling of Hijikata's lips and tongue against her skin. This time she couldn't repress a shiver and Hijikata's fingers tightened their grip on her shoulder. Her own heart rate spiked with every trace of his tongue across her skin, even as, behind her, Hijikata's own breathing began to calm.

Finally the small wound closed and he slowly let her go, his lips pressing briefly once more to her skin in a feather light touch as he murmured, "Stubborn Edo woman."

When she turned to look at him, his hair and eyes had returned to normal, though his exhaustion seemed even more pronounced.

Her legs were only slightly wobbly as she stood and collected the tray from the side table where she had left it. She could feel Hijikata's gaze follow her, but he didn't say anything.

Returning to his side, she asked hesitantly, "Would you like some tea?"

Technically she was fairly sure the tea would be well and truly over steeped by this point, but she wasn't quite sure what else to do after such an intimate moment between them.

Hijikata made a sound halfway between a cough and a laugh as he ran his ran a hand over his face.

"Yes, I could do with some tea right now."

The words could have been sarcastic, but instead they felt honest and even tinged with a bit of relief.

A silence fell between them as Chizuru poured and handed Hijikata his cup, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It brought back memories of bringing him tea on those nights in Kyoto and Edo when he would be up into the early hours and she would sit and sip silently at her own cup while he worked.

Hijikata must have been thinking the same thing, because he glanced over at her as he said, "I never realized how much I missed this…"

Chizuru felt heat rise in her cheeks as she stared at her tea; her fingers tightening around the cup.

"Me too…"

Silence again drifted between them, but Chizuru couldn't ignore the small bubble of happiness within her at the thought that at least this much hadn't changed during their time apart. War was coming, but maybe in quiet moments like this, they could find some peace.


	5. Hope and Despair

Chizuru smothered a cough as a plume of dust rose into the air.

Around her, the small storage room was cluttered with boxes, books, stacks of papers, and a spattering of notebooks. And all of it was covered with a more than decent layer of dust.

She had been putting off cleaning this room for a couple years now. Not for any particular reason, there just never seemed to be enough time to make a decent go at it. Now though, with Toshi having taken the kids for a day of attempted fishing and herb gathering, she had several hours to make a go at it.

Chizuru smiled as she hefted one of Kodo's medical tombs. Matsumoto-sensei had been kind to gather everything of value from her home in what was now known as Tokyo. She wasn't sure if the man had bought her lie about Hijikata's death and her own wish to remove herself from society and set up a practice of her own in Ezo, but he had continued to keep in touch with her. Much to Toshi's annoyance, she had told Matsumoto-sensei about the poet Hogyoku, whom she had married and her two children.

The books themselves had been a lifeline for her when she had first begun practicing medicine. There were very few people in need of the skills of a field medic. Over the years she had gown confident enough in her own skill, that she rarely needed to rely on them.

It didn't take her long to collect and sort the books, placing them on a shelf for easy access, before turning to the journals scattered on almost every surface. Some were her own study journals, as she found writing things down helped her remember them. They had started out as medical notes, but had quickly grown to become a repository of memories. Some were filled with memories of growing up with Kodo. Most were filled with memories of her time with the Shinsengumi. Everything from small, personal moments, to accounts of the battles she had witnessed filled the pages. Even if history forgot or rewrote who the Shinsengumi had been, she wanted her children to have an account of their heritage without the fogginess that came with remembering childhood stories. There was also the steadily growing number of journals detailing the memories they had made building their family after the war.

As Chizuru gathered and sorted the journals, she couldn't help but laugh at what writers she and Toshi had become. For every journal filled with her writing, there was sure to be one filled with Toshi's careful calligraphy. In her opinion, the practice had turned him into a masterful poet. She doubted there was much in his current work that Okita could have made fun of. Not that mischievous man still wouldn't have tried.

The rest of the clutter was fairly dull. Boxes with baby clothes, gifts the children had found and made them over the years. There was even a beautiful silk kimono that Hijikata had insisted on purchasing for her, though she wondered when she would ever have occasion to wear something so nice.

Finally, the room was clear of dust and everything was in order. All with the exception of one final box, which for the life of her, Chizuru couldn't remember what she had originally put in it.

Kneeling down, she pulled the box close and opened the lid.

She froze, the lid slipping from numb fingers as she stared at the folds of cloth lying before her. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked at the stiff, red vest, it's lapels intricately embroidered. Next to it, lying neatly folded, the white shirt that had been it's companion.

"Chizuru?"

The sound of Toshi's voice fell on deaf ears and Chizuru remained frozen in place, her hands starting to shake.

"Why don't you both go put our catch in the kitchen while I go find your mother."

There was a brief moment of silence before Chizuru heard him at the doorway and he said, "Chizuru?"

She wanted to answer, but by this point, her throat felt thick with tears. Taking a shaky breath, she tried to speak, but nothing came out.

With a rustle of cloth, Toshi knelt down beside her, his hand tracing a soothing path across her shoulders. When he saw the contents of the box, the movement of his hand paused.

It wasn't the clothes themselves that had caused her reaction, it was what permanently marred them. In places the cotton of the shirt was more rust than white and much of the once beautiful embroidery on the vest was stained in horrible shades of brown.

He took a slow breath before squeezing her shoulder and saying, "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

Chizuru nodded as she managed to keep most of the pent up tears from her voice. She didn't usually overreact like this.

"I'm sorry, I know. I-I just pray they'll never understand the despair I felt that day…"

They both knew who she meant and Toshi pulled her into a tight embrace, cradling her against his chest.

"They won't. The world has changed enough for that at least."

His slim fingers lifted her chin until their eyes met and he lean close as he said, "If I haven't told you recently that you are the strongest woman I know," he pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, "you are. And if I haven't told you recently that I love you more than anything," his hand wove into her hair as he gave her a far more passionate kiss on the lips that left her slightly breathless. "I do."

Chizuru raised an eyebrow as she pulled away slightly and said, "More than our children?"

Toshi stared at her in confusion, completely thrown by her question. Unfortunately she had never been very good at hiding her emotions and after only a second or so, a giggle escaped.

More broke loose as Toshi let out a half laugh, half exasperated sigh as he dropped his forehead to her shoulder and said, "Really?"

Once she had her laughter mostly under control, she pushed gently against his chest until he lifted he's face from her shoulder and met her gaze.

Slowly, she raised her hand and traced the arch of his cheekbone with her thumb as she said, "If I haven't told you recently that I love you," she stretched up until her lips barely grazed his. "I do."


End file.
